One-Year Term
Richard Hanzelka
Position: Director, Eastern Iowa Writing Project, St. Ambrose University, Davenport, Iowa.
Education: B.A., M.A., and Ph.D., University of Iowa.
Career History and Highlights: Elementary and secondary classroom teacher; language arts/professional development consultant; director of general education in an educational service agency in Iowa serving 22 school districts and 55,000 students; Education Department chair at Marycrest International University; trainer for cohorts of principals in teacher evaluation for the state of Iowa; and professional development provider in teaching writing to K–12 teachers across the state. Author of chapters in On Righting Writing (National Council of Teachers of English [NCTE]) and Ways of Knowing (Iowa Writing Project) and articles and columns in Iowa Educational Leadership. Strategic planning facilitator for local school districts, a university, towns, non-profit agencies, banks, and companies.
ASCD and Affiliate Participation: ASCD member, 30 years; affiliate member, 30 years. Member, ASCD Executive Council (2000–03), Nominations-Elections Panel, Board of Directors, Nominations Committee, Annual Conference Credentials Committee, Committee for Institutional Membership, and Network on Higher Education; Executive Council Budget Liaison; presenter, Annual Conference; executive director, member-at-large, president-elect, and president, Iowa ASCD; affiliate representative to Affiliate Leadership Conference for several years; editor, Iowa ASCD News; member, Midwest Affiliates Conference Planning Committee; participant and presenter at various state affiliate conferences.
Statement of Leadership: Leaders involve people as learners and use the strengths of everyone—including the leader—to create sustainable change. My personal mission statement supports this idea of leadership: "My purpose is to provide each person I meet with the dignity to see himself or herself as an individual with value, with ideas worth expressing, and with the confidence to take risks."
ASCD provides a powerful context for the dialogue implicit in that purpose statement because ASCD is "a diverse, international community of educators." I am excited about the opportunity as President-Elect to lead toward passionate but dignified dialogue and to help ASCD achieve excellence through diversity.
Through such dialogue we can involve even more members in association leadership for the benefit of all learners. I welcome the opportunity to be part of the effort to build our strengths as educators. If we use our strengths collaboratively for the benefit of children and teachers at all levels in many diverse contexts, we can begin to solve the complex problems facing us.
I am pleased to be considered by ASCD members for President-Elect and look forward to using my skills as an organized, effective facilitator to help achieve the goals articulated by the ASCD Strategic Plan.
Eduardo R. Rivas
Position: Administrative Director, Office of Performance Improvement, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami, Fla.
Education: B.S., Florida International University (FIU); M.S., Nova University and FIU; Ed.D., University of Miami.
Career History and Highlights: Past experiences have led to opportunities to provide districtwide leadership, coordinate strategic planning, and infuse quality performance improvement initiatives throughout schools and business and support offices. Experiences include counselor, teacher, project manager, adjunct professor, Fulbright Scholar (Republic of Korea), assistant principal, principal, and district administrator. Affiliations include board of directors, Association for Quality and Participation; American Society for Quality; commissioner, Florida Community Service Commission; examiner, board of directors, and conference speaker, Florida Sterling Council; and liaison, Florida Department of Education. Presentations/publications (local, state, national, and international groups) include strategic planning, data-driven decision making, restructuring (International Conference for Peace and Mutual Understanding, Moscow, Russia), team building, systemic problem-solving, best practices, parent participation, increasing student achievement, focusing on equity, benchmarking, and global/multicultural education.
ASCD and Affiliate Participation: ASCD member, 23 years; affiliate member, 13 years. Board of Directors (2001–02); Governance Transition Advisory Committee (2000–03); Network Facilitator (2002–04); member, Nominations-Elections Panel and Program Development Advisory Panel (2003–04); conference speaker, 2002, 2003, and 2004; state committee, 2005 Annual Conference; associate member. Affiliate president (2001–02), board member (1995–96 and 1999–2004), conference chair (2000), speaker (1991, 1995, 2000, 2002), and member of diversity committee (1995).
Statement of Leadership: "None of us is as smart as all of us." (Pogo, created by cartoonist Walt Kelly.) ASCD, an active, international organization, provides a venue through conferences, affiliates, networks, and boards for educators to share ideas that will influence the direction and quality of education and the effectiveness of educational leaders. ASCD's Strategic Plan clearly delineates its mission, vision, goals, and beliefs. It is the navigational chart for all activity; it challenges and empowers its members to address issues affecting education, to pursue a new paradigm focusing on teamwork that values the diversity that many minds and hands bring to the accomplishment of its work, and to view new challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities.
Visionary leadership builds on success—which is a journey, not a destination—seeks and uses members' expertise while providing for their professional needs, pursues opportunities to form productive alliances, and serves as a proactive advocate for students and educators. By combining our efforts, maximizing our resources, and capitalizing on our diversity, we can expand our capacity to effect change and to turn concepts into the reality of quality education experiences worldwide. I am confident that I can fulfill the leadership role needed to accomplish this.